[Highlander]

Cincinnati Reds

SP1- Michael Soroka (21)- A 3rd round pick whose career has been from 2018-present, Soroka looked like a star at the beginning of his career, but has really struggled since, including missing the 2 seasons of 2021 and 2022. Somehow he is considered “Durable”, so maybe he will finally live up to his promise here.

SP2- Masahiro Tanaka (30)- Selected in the 6th round, Tanaka will be closer to the end of his 2014-2020 career than the start. He came over from Japan as a pretty hyped pitcher and he really did well overall. We’ll see what he has left in the tank at this point, though.

SP3- Dave Ferriss (23)- Dave was a 7th round pick and will also be used some as a hitter, although he doesn’t really have another position with experience. His career was only from 1945-1950, but his 1st 2 years were really good, so if he can maintain his skills better, he could be really good.

SP4- Barney Wolfe (29)- Barney played from 1903-1906 and while his record was pretty bad most years, his skills were solid. He was a 13th round pick and should be solid as a 4th starter.

MR- Gary Wayne (31)- A 10th round pick, Gary looks like a solid RP. He played from 1989-1994 and imported in his best season.

LR- Jose Lima (30)- Jose had 2 really good years in his age 26 and 27 seasons, but could never find that magic again through his whole 1994-2006 career. As only a 30th round pick, there aren’t many expectations….which is a good thing.

Reserve- Jonathan Heasley (24), Manny Muniz (23), Jack Reis (19), Mike Rowland (28), Bob Trice (27), Tyler Wilson (25), Jimmy Yacabonis (29),

C- Charlie O’Brien (37)- Mostly a back-up in his long 1985-2000 career, Charlie is still probably one of the better defensive catchers in the league so far. He was only an 18th round pick, so he should be worth it for however long he continues to play.

1B- There is a bit of a confusing platoon situation involving multiple positions for the Reds. The strong side of the 1B platoon will be Ron Jones (24). He will also play LF against lefties, so he’ll really be a fulltime player and as a 2nd round pick, that is as it should be. Ron isn’t rated at 1B, so there may be a learning curve for him. He played very little over his 1988-1991 career, but is taking advantage of an import that came due to a hot start to his career over his first 33 games. The other side of the 1B platoon will be Harry Spratt (23). He will also play 3B against righties! The strange thing is that he isn’t rated at either position….he’s a 2B/SS! He only played part time from 1911-1912, but is coming in with a lot of power and speed so he cost a 4th round pick. The learning curve to pick up 2 new positions will definitely be something to follow.

2B- Dickie Thon (32)- Thon broke in at age 21 and played from 1979-1993, so this is near the end of his career. He was a 9th round pick and still has great defense, good speed and a decent bat, so he should be good for a few more years.

3B- We already learned about Harry Spratt, who will play 3B against RHP. The weak side of this 3rd base platoon will be Ivy Olson (31). He was a 14th round pick who played from 1911-1924 and was a mediocre player at best. He does have a solid glove at multiple IF positions, though.

SS- Jose Valentin (32)- Another really good defender at multiple positions, Jose was drafted in the 5th and played from 1992-2007. He became a very good power hitter during this portion of his career, so between that and his defense, he should be a solid SS for a few years….just don’t expect much of an average from him.

LF- We already know Ron Jones will be manning LF when a lefty is on the mound, but the strong side LF guy will be Frank Shugart (34). He is another older player on this team and is right at the end of what was his 1890-1901 career. He actually missed all of 1898-1900 and then came back for one final season in 1901. We’ll see how much farther he goes in this league. He was just a 17th round pick.

CF- Lyman Bostock (26)- The top pick for the Reds, Lyman is always one of the most tragic stories in baseball. He was off to a terrific start to his career from 1975-1978. In 1977, he hit .336 with 36 doubles, 12 triples and 14 HR and looked to be one of the bigger stars in the game. His 1978 season saw him drop off a little, but still was hitting .296 with a .740 OPS. Then on September 24th of 1978, after a game with the White Sox, Lyman and his uncle drove to visit a woman who Bostock had tutored as a teenager and had not seen in many years. After the visit, they agreed to take the woman and her sister to their cousin’s house. Unbeknownst to any of them, the sister’s husband saw them all get in the car and assumed his wife was being unfaithful to him with Lyman. He followed them and at a red light, he pulled up next to the car and fired a shotgun into the back seat, intending to kill his wife. Tragically, Lyman Bostock was killed by that shot in the prime of both his career and his life.

RF- Earl Robinson (25)- Earl played sporadically and missed a few seasons between 1958-1964. However, for a 12th round pick, he imported pretty well. He could be a solid guy for them.

Bench
C/1B- Mike Rivera (30)....11th Round….2001-2011
1B/LF- Tyler Moore (26)....20th Round….2012-2017
2B/SS- Jack Lopez (31)....27th Round….2021 and 2024…not sure if he’s in the majors this year
IF/OF- Hector Luna (32)....22nd Round….2004-2012
CI/OF- Russell Branyan (22)....8th Round….1998-2011
IF- Jonah Bride (27)....19th Round….2022-present
IF- Red Rollings (24)....24th Round….1927-1930
IF- Larry Wolfe (27)....16th Round….1977-1980
OF- Jack Gilbert (28)....28th Round….1898 and 1904
1B/LF- Scott Thorman (24)....21st Round….2006-2007

Reserve- Danny Mahoney (22), JJ Furmaniak (27), David Hensley (27), Chris Truby (27), Joe Bean (28), Hal Quick (21), Darren Ford (25), Scott Heineman (26), Danny Morejon (27)